Healer of the Water Monster

Holly says: This warm-hearted middle grade novel introduced me both to Navajo myth and to publishing imprint Heartdrum, which features intertribal voices and young Native heroes. The story follows Nathan, who spends the summer with his grandma and uncle Jet on the Navajo reservation. When he gets lost in the desert one night, Nathan unexpectedly meets a Water Monster from the Navajo Creation story. Needing the Water Monster’s help to return home, Nathan agrees to help heal the Water Monster in exchange for this assistance. I appreciated how this story wove together Diné myth and legend with modern-day concerns from access to safe drinking water to climate change.